“Today’s announcement of a $2.00 special dividend, payable prior to the end of the calendar year, provides us with another opportunity to return capital to our shareholders,” said John Mackey, Whole Foods co-founder and co-chief executive officer, in a statement. “We believe we will continue to generate strong cash flows and are confident in our ability to maintain a healthy cash reserve, internally fund our accelerated growth plans, and continue our quarterly dividend and stock repurchase programs.”

The special dividend is in addition to the WFM’s regular quarterly cash dividend of 20 cents per share to be paid Jan. 29, 2013 to shareholders as of Jan. 18.

WFM shares were recently up 41 cents to $93.49.

Copyright 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our
Subscriber Agreement
and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit